Romania: Hidroelectrica denies abuses in the energy market

28. February 2017. / SEE Energy News

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Romanian electricity producer Hidroelectrica, Ovidiu Agliceru said that the company’s energy sales on the electricity exchange OPCOM were made at the market price and it did not abuse its dominant position since it acted at the request of the national energy dispatch center, in full compliance with the law.

This statement follows and announcement by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), which said that an investigation into two suspicious electricity sale contracts was launched, in order to determine whether they involved the abuse of the dominant market position. According to media, the investigation is focused on Hidroelectrica and Energy Complex Oltenia, both of which sold electricity at unusually high prices.

Agliceru explained that Hidroelectrica sold energy only at the market price and under competitive conditions. It sold all available electricity on the day-ahead market under bilateral contracts and there have been overruns on the balancing market, which does not depend on the company.

Regarding extremely high electricity prices in the Romanian market this January, Agliceru said that he believes that the cause is the energy crisis in Europe. He added that Hidroelectrica did not act any differently on the market compared to previous years due to energy crisis.